David Lee the Founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc.

Letting the truth flow.

Thank you David.

source for post Narconon, Scientology and Intervention Services and Technologies I believe it is necessary to help spread the articles by David Lee. He is the Founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc. and has been writing on reaching4.info. His words are very enlightening and thought provoking. David’s words have already helped many get out and speak out.David, I would like to truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. Keep that river of truth flowing.CH

David Lee of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc.

I feel that there are many reasons why families and addicts chose Narconon. And it is usually because of what they were told over the phone. I’d like to list many of the reasons that people did choose Narconon in my experience. If any of the following were true, then it would be “logical” to choose Narconon. When I was active in the Narconon universe I believed some of the following to be true and even promoted it. However, today I find much of the following reasons either to be exaggerated, faulty science, completely untrue, or an outright lie.

Here are some of the most common things told to families about Narconon:

1) “Because we have a 76% Success Rate. Most traditional programs are only about 5% successful.” I’ve seen this success rate posted and sold anywhere from 76% to 90% over the years. In my experience I don’t feel that Narconon has anywhere near this success rate, and I do believe that they are aware of it, but continue to put the lie out there. I feel they might be closer to 10% or less for absolute abstinence. I know of very few Narconon grads who never used drugs again. Of those, they usually pick up a drink instead and consider themselves successful. It is very disconcerting to me that Narconon promotes what I believe to be a completely untrue success rate and many families have chosen it solely because of this.

2) “Because the reason you are relapsing is because of drug residuals in your fat cells that cause cravings when they are released, sometimes for years. Our sauna program is the only one that handles the physical cravings.” This logic makes sense to an addict who keeps relapsing. Perhaps it explains why I get cravings every now and again, they think. In reality, consistent cravings are normal and are what is referred to as Post-Acute Withdrawal. Part of recovery is learning to deal with the cravings, not “make them go away” if that were even possible. Many clients were led to believe that the sauna was the magic-bullet. In addition, I encountered many clients who went to Narconon solely because of their Sauna program. However, I haven’t found any scientific studies to support their science, and most professionals seem to find the sauna program as ineffective or even dangerous. The reality is, the sauna doesn’t really get rid of cravings. This is another semi-logical sounding “sell”.

3) “We are long-term. Most treatment programs of 28 days aren’t long enough and only are that long because insurance companies only pay 28 days.” This seems to make sense. However, it also depends on the level of counseling available. 6 months of no counseling isn’t as effective as 28 days of clinical counseling. Jail is also long term. I wouldn’t sell it as a viable alternative to a 28 day residential treatment program. Many families are given the impression that Narconon does a more detailed aggressive and longer term handling of addiction. In reality, much of what clients do at a Narconon, a family member would think had little to do with addiction or recovery. Ironically, insurance companies don’t necessarily bill out at 28 days. They bill at different rates, days for different levels of services, including detox, outpatient, residential treatment, php, etc.

4) “We have a guarantee. If you relapse within 6months or so, you can come back, free of charge. We so believe in our program”. Very tempting. However, most addicts that relapsed from Narconon and reached out to us afterwards, had zero intentions of ever returning. In addition, it isn’t usually free. If you “required” detox, there was often an additional charge, sometimes as high as $7500 or more. The average minimum was around $2500 plus flights, etc. Many families, after shelling out $30k+ aren’t that willing to shell out an additional thousands more in surprise costs.

5) “We work well with your insurance. Simply pay the money up front and we will advocate on your behalf to get you money reimbursed by your insurance provider. We are usually quite successful in getting people most, if not all, of their money.” In my experience, there was little to no advocacy and I believe that usually less than 10% of clients got any moneys back. Many Narconons did nothing to help the families to get reimbursed, because in order to do so, the client has to receive varying degrees of Assessments, Clinical and Psychological Counseling, etc which doesn’t usually occur at a Narconon.

6) “We are results based, and not time based. A client doesn’t move to the next section of the program until they fully are approved by a case supervisor on having done all the work thoroughly. We don’t believe in releasing a client just because they stayed somewhere 28 days.” There is some truth here, but also know that many clients quickly discover that the faster they “rip” through the program, the faster they can go home. Often a family is quite surprised when their loved one came home from the “6 month to 1 year stay” after only about 2-3 months. Also, understand that results could mean “client was able to sit in a chair for 1 hour without moving”. This is an example of a result that needs to be accomplished before moving on. Many “results” are equally strange and unique to only the Narconon and Scientology world.

7) “Because we have more one-on-one counseling than anywhere. We have the highest client to staff ratio which means that your loved one will receive more attention than at another facility where 1 therapist oversees 10 clients.” There really isn’t any clinical counseling at Narconon in the classical sense. You are sitting in a room, assigned a twin where you read books, answer questions, and do drills with your “twin”. Your twin is the one-on-one time, not with a counselor. Overseeing it all is a Course Supervisor who makes sure that you’re reading your questions, answering and doing your drills. Over 90% of your time at Narconon, you are directly overseen by 1 maybe 2 staff members in a group of 20-30 clients. If there are 90 clients in a courseroom, you might be overseen by 3 or 4.

“Because we have 24 hour medical staff on site”. Some Narconons have a nurse on staff 24 hours. Many do not. However, the doctor is usually a contractor who may show up only once a week to do a basic checkup on you when you arrive. This impression is given to families who want to be secure in knowing that, in the event something major happens, the treatment center can handle it. In many Narconons I was at, I had more medical training then any of the staff, and all I had was a CPR certification.

9) “We have a legal liason that can help you to stay out of jail.” In my experience, most legal letters were simply a form letter written by the registrar that introduced Narconon and said that the client had been accepted. In terms of ongoing reports to probation officers or such, very often this was neglected and clients got in trouble. It was usually told to clients to simply allow a bench warrant to occur, finish Narconon and take a letter of completion to the judge and hope they rescind any bench warrants. Whenever attorneys of clients were involved they usually recommended against this course of action.

10) “Because we specialize in people with learning disabilities. We have an entire course dedicated to helping people learn the proper ways to study, define words, go slowly, etc. Many people aren’t dumb, they just were never taught proper study techniques. We can help this.” This seems attractive and many families feel that their loved ones struggled in school and that’s why they have such low self esteem and got into drugs. Offering this to a mother or father is like a holy grail to someone with a learning disability. However, the Study techniques found at Narconon include the idea that “physical ailments are an indicator that you went past a word you didn’t understand” and much other pseudo science. There is nothing wrong with looking up words in a dictionary, however, to offer it as a magic bullet for education and addiction is unfair and deceptive.

11) “Because we believe in curing people, unlike traditional programs who insist on telling people they are always an addict. After Narconon, you don’t have to go to meetings or anything. You are fixed.” This is so tempting. Any addict in the world would choose this if it worked. Invest 3 months….or go to an AA meeting every day “forever”. And, many traditional programs would embrace this if they could find something that quickly arrested alcoholism or addiction. Many families are very reluctant to have their 19 year old labeled as an addict and want desperately to believe that their addiction is a temporary mistake that can be fixed. The reality is that, for most, there is no quick fix and addiction often takes years to conquer.

12) “If your loved one is a good person, then your loved one could have a job. That’s how I got started working here.” After years of failures, many parents of addicts want desperately for their loved one to find a place in responsible society. The offer of a job is one of the major points that family members choose Narconon. They hope that they can become responsible and start helping people. However, you can’t go to sleep a patient and wake up a counselor. There are no short cuts. What a traditional therapist and recovering addict acquires in 4 years of abstinence, training and schooling cannot be accomplished in one month of study after graduating Narconon. One of the most tragic mistakes that I and many addicts make is in trying for shortcuts as opposed to earning our way the hard way. It is also strange that families never seemed to question the legitimacy of the staff if Narconon predominately hires graduates.

13) “We are coed”. I don’t know of any legitimate treatment program that enmeshes male and female clients together like I have seen at Narconons. Those other programs that are coed are usually quite separate and you aren’t even allowed to speak to the opposite sex. Traditional programs find co-ed interaction to be an often deadly problem that should be avoided at all costs. Often at Narconon, I slept in a room 10 feet away from a females room, there was little to no oversight, I was allowed to interact with, hang out with and spend almost all of my free time with women. It was a very college like experience, with clients sitting on each others laps, wandering off together, tickling each other, sexual contact, note passing etc. Many times clients left together before completing the program that had found “new love”. Most legitimate programs would never suggest that being coed is actual a good thing. Ironically, Narconon often promotes it as such.

14) “We are a secular, non-religious program.” On occasion a family member would discover, before their loved one arrived at Narconon, that it was connected to Scientology. If this happened the client was “debugged” and told definitively how it wasn’t Scientology. I have heard these arguments several times but I don’t fully understand how it is any different. I have heard that although it uses the same tech as scientology, it isn’t scientology because scientology is the belief in a thetan or something to that effect. It is pretty strange. It’s almost like a program that only uses the bible and teachings of Jesus Christ for their material but says they aren’t religious or Christian. I think if they are Scientology they should simply say so. In most Narconons, there exists a Qual department, which actually oversees everything, including the executives. Many people believe that the Directors run everything, however, I have found that, in reality, the Qual department really oversees everything and is one of the few departments that can actually put an Executive Director in ethics. The responsibility of the Qual department is to make sure that Scientology Tech is all being implemented and followed within the Narconon. In most Qual departments, you will only find Scientology materials, including the red tech dictionary, the green and red volumes of Scientology Tech.

If you want to know what Narconon really is, walk into the Qual Department. I have never seen a Qual department that wasn’t fully staffed by Scientologists at a Narconon. I don’t believe the position can be held by a non-Scientologist. They hold the keys to the kingdom.

Well, I hope this helps people to understand that there are many different reasons why people have chosen Narconon. The majority of the time it is because they either don’t like religion, NA, AA, or tried it before and it didn’t work and were seeking alternatives. Unfortunately, there really aren’t many alternatives and most who dig around end up talking to Narconon and sold the various points that I have listed. I think over time there will be more alternative options, however, they need to be legitimate, transparent and effective.

David Lee the Founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc.

Letting the truth flow.

Thank you David.

source for post Narconon, Scientology and Intervention Services and Technologies I believe it is necessary to help spread the articles by David Lee. He is the Founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc. and has been writing on reaching4.info. His words are very enlightening and thought provoking. David’s words have already helped many get out and speak out.David, I would like to truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. Keep that river of truth flowing.CH

David Lee of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc.

I’d like to take the time to relate how it is that I became immersed in and often embraced what I now consider to be very cult-like thinking. Understand that I wasn’t naive, even at times I often questioned, but ultimately there were things within Narconon and Scientology that I was attracted to that kept me reaching further for that next “carrot”. I never did get the carrot.

What I have observed in my own life and the 4 Narconons I had direct experience as a student, staff member, or retread client is that there were, in all of them primarily 4 types of people there:

1) STUDENTS: These were addicts who, in most cases, didn’t know that L.Ron Hubbard principles were taught until they arrived. However, because they liked certain philosophies decided to stay. More often than most people realize, clients who arrived often created problems if they were antagonistic towards Scientology. If they weren’t convinced to stay, they were usually asked to leave. I found it amusing that every time I arrived I was asked a series of questions which included asking if I or any of my family members worked for any intelligence gathering agency such as the CIA, FBI or NSA. It made it seem that there were covert operations out there that wanted to infiltrate. In my mind this made Narconon strangely attractive. Aside from the usual Narconon tech stuff, most students were not pushed towards anything further than that. There seemed to be a mystique about Scientology, but they made it clear that was reserved for only “special” people. People such as I became. Because it was reserved, I was attracted. I guess a part of my addiction has been being drawn to the forbidden. Cocaine, Heroin, etc. These all fall into the same realm. Scientology was no different. If you said “stay away”, I usually went forward instead. Again, if a student was openly antagonistic about LRH or Scientology, or relayed anything they had found on a black PR website, they were generally asked to leave. If however, like me, you were interested in the program, were a good student and didn’t sneak drugs in, showed up on time, weren’t sleeping with other clients, then you were offered a bit more.

At every Narconon that I attended or worked at, I was always taken to a back room where they would pull an actual Scientology book (non-narconon) off the shelf, close the door and say to me “I’m not supposed to show you this, but read this part here”. I was special and treated so. I would read something about “thetans, beingness, cause” things like that. The strangeness of it all was this idea that I was being shown tidbits of a greater truth. I always felt honored and attracted. I would return to my bunk, smug in knowing that I was different from my other students. I was “high theta”, intelligent, maybe even better than. I was chosen. And with being chosen always came the offer to me, and other students like me. “Would you like to work here and join us?”. If that was possible, I and others like me did. If it wasn’t the client was usually referred to a Scientology Org in their home area…off the record.

I had some problems with aspects of the program and tried to make my case. For example, during the sauna portion it was told, and I read in the Narconon books, that for the most part all drugs fell into the same category. If you took a small amount of it, it created a stimulant effect. More, created a downer effect. Even more, killed you. There was no stimulant, depressant, psychoactive, hallucinogen, narcotic, barbiturate breakdown. They just put everything into one lump. They also said that radiation got stored in the body and a sauna could get rid of it. I would argue about this to the staff and say “This isn’t true, I can show you a thousand scientific references for this being false” They would either nod and say “I understand” or eventually it would be back into the back room where they’d pull down the secret tome of scientology.

Later I was told that “all forms of sickness or injury” including addiction are related to a PTS condition (or something on the outside creating “suppression” on the being). Again, I would argue “all forms? Come on. What about cancer, or someone falling down the stairs?” “All forms” I would be told. Again, the secret book. At one Narconon I was told that the reason for my addiction was my mother. At another, I was told it was my brother. At another, I was told that I was PTS’d to myself. That my thetan or soul was attached to other secretly suppressive “spirits” that were causing me problems. I still have no idea what the heck that means.

I enjoyed doing the training routines. We would try and “bullbait” someone who was asked to sit in a chair motionless. We tried to “break their confront” and make them laugh or flinch. It was like a fun game. We were usually laughing and really enjoyed it. Who could last the longest was the best. The ashtray drill, which a lot of people ridicule, was eventually my favorite. At first I didn’t understand it. However, with many sit-downs and secret references written by LRH, I was slowly explained the truth. That if I could practice putting my thoughts and intentions into an immobile ashtray…eventually I could gain the power to do that to a human being. In other words…I could compel people with my thoughts and willpower alone. Wrong thing to say to a drug addict like me. Jedi mind tricks? Compelling people with thoughts alone? Awesome. I’m in. I spent several years trying this goal. I never did achieve this carrot. Man, did I try, though.

2) STAFF TRAINEE: At most Narconons, it seemed that there were almost the same number of trainees as staff, at times. Which was strange to me. If there was such a high success rate, where did they all go? For an initial $50 a week I began training as a withdraw specialist, program support specialist, registrar (salesperson), course supervisor. Training consisted of more of the same that was in Narconon, just at a higher level. We also had freedom and oversight of our former students.

There is a thing in traditional counseling that is referred to as “Dual relationships” and how they should be avoided at all costs. I, as a result of Narconon, understand now why it is so important. Dual relationships means that I can’t be your therapist and your friend. I can’t be your therapist and date you. I can’t be your therapist and take advantage of that relationship in any way. Dual relationships means that it is often illegal in many states for a therapist in a rehab to date a client for a period of years during and after treatment. It’s a sacred trust. At Narconon, dual relationships occur all the time. It is impossible to have a client instantly become a staff member without major problems occurring. In many Narconons, I witnessed staff members “grooming” certain students to come on board as staff with the complete understanding that they would date them when they did. If they did that in any traditional facility, many would go to jail. Not so at Narconon. Many Narconons are “off the grid” and located outside of a major metropolitan area. There are islands unto themselves and your social life is limited as a staff member. So students and trainees often “become” your social life.

As a staff trainee much of my normal language began to be replaced with “Tech” terms. In other words, a 2d is a relationship. A job or person is a terminal. Paperwork and people become “particles”. People also became “cycles”, sexual attraction became a “flow”, Soul becomes theta, sick became PTS’d. My family would sometimes ask me “what the heck are you talking about?”

As a staff trainee I was usually introduced to more about Scientology. I wasn’t forced, I was attracted to it initially. A problem that I had was that Scientologists almost never considered anything that wasn’t written by L.Ron Hubbard to be an effective source. In other words, anything I disputed they would ask “show me the source”. If it wasn’t in a scientology book, it was basically dismissed. What a strange and insulated world. When I started doing Objectives in my courses (where you walk around viewing or touching things for hours or days on end) it was supposed to bring about a higher thought plane and give you an objective view of reality and your life. I decided that since it was about a “higher thought plane” I would just meditate for a few hours before each objective session, that way I’d have a jump on the whole higher thought thing. When they found out, they were so upset with me and I thought I’d be kicked out. They said I was interfering with a delicate and sacred process and I was combining the tech. I was introduced to the idea of “squirreling” the tech and how it was the worst thing you could do. That the tech need always be pure and never used with anything else. I guess that should have been a warning sign. Nothing else exists except Scientology. Nothing….

I was introduced and taken to LRH birthday celebrations where hundreds or thousands of people chanted and cheered about the man L. Ron Hubbard and our mission to clear the planet. I can’t explain how attractive this idea was to me. It was one thing to get a job at McDonalds…it was another to be directly responsible to help win the fight against the evils of psychiatry and suppression. It was the plot of every Sci-Fi book that I ever read, except I could be the protagonist. To hold the secret truths. I wanted desperately to believe that I was a part of something great.

3) STAFF MEMBERS: Here was usually around 50% Scientologists and 50%“normal people” who really liked Narconon, were former students and didn’t necessarily buy into the rest. However, it was pretty apparent that if you didn’t further yourself into Scientology you would probably never get a position higher than a basic position. I am pretty sure that almost every Senior Director or above was a Scientologist at the Narconons I attended or visited. If you weren’t a Scientologist, you generally weren’t regarded as a part of the elite group. Part of the many problems that I experienced was my reluctance to start doing auditing. It was usually cost related. Auditing costs A LOT of money. I never did make the jump. I think I was looked down upon at times, looked at as not serious about Scientology.

As a staff member I never learned anything about traditional counseling, support groups, psychology, psychiatry, health care or anything. Even our drug education was simply about the sauna and how it removed latent particles of drugs from your fat cells. It’s strange that in a Narconon, we rarely talk about a drugs or addiction. There are no support groups or anything. There is no actual counselor where you can process events, feelings or problems. I recall once where a woman student asked if she could have an AA meeting during her off time and that she had the support of other students because she felt that she wasn’t actually talking about much if anything about addiction at Narconon. She was handled and eventually asked to leave. I don’t feel that Scientologists believe that drugs are a primary problem, but just a symptom of not having done enough Scientology.

I have tried to reconcile Narconon as an alternative, but not very successful, drug treatment program. In reality, I don’t think it makes any attempt to deal with addiction in a realistic manner at all. It seems like a handful of random Scientology courses that somewhat fit together in a jumbled puzzle. It’s like taking random chapters in book and trying to make it all go together in some sort of strange plot. Most people that attended Narconon had no explanation about “Why or How” these things were supposed to address their addictions. We were supposed to “figure it out on our own”.

I think that the reason that Narconons will eventually go completely away isn’t completely because of their deception and dishonesty, although I think it’s a major factor. It’s the fact that Narconon is completely unwilling to embrace anything outside of something designed or written by LRH. I often felt that if a Scientologist discovered that having an AA meeting at a Narconon doubled their success rate, they still wouldn’t have one there. They are limited to a handful of books and that is their ultimate references. They will never know the joys of discovery that many traditional programs experience when they try something new or that has been recently discovered that helps clients recover. They will probably never grow, but instead be stuck in looking for random pieces of Scientology that might actually fit. I tried to keep looking for deeper meaning in the strange jumble of weirdness. Many of us did. Reaching for the next carrot, or underneath the next rock.

4) SCIENTOLOGISTS: Almost everyone I met at a higher level within a Narconon was a Scientologist. In the beginning, I was introduced to my first OT. I met an OT-4, and later many dozens of them at even higher levels. What is an OT? Technical term is Operating Thetan, levels 1-8, I think. They were revered, and if they showed up it was like a Jedi knight showing up. I was always intrigued by them and would ask about them to other people. What powers and abilities do they have, I would ask. It was always vague answers, but they made it clear that one day, I too could be an OT. I was told that many Scientologists believe that Jesus Christ was an actual OT, and the miracles he could perform would also be possible for a “high enough level OT”. It was almost like they were revered as gods. But, I would occasionally encounter OT’s who smoked cigarettes, drank, cheated on their wives, lied and stole money, and reverted on drugs. I never understood why Jesus Christ in human form would do such things. I was never given a good explanation.

I was also introduced to the idea of the SeaOrg and met with a few SeaOrg members. Apparently these were Scientologists who signed a billion year contract or something like that. I tried talking to them and they asked me a few questions. However, once they discovered that I had tried LSD in my life, they shut down. Apparently that’s an automatic disqualification to join.

I was also told the truth of the OrgBoard, which is how every Narconon and Scientology organization is structured. I was told that it was some of the most advanced form of tech that L.Ron Hubbard gave the world. I was told that he, through auditing, went back in time and viewed his past lives many (perhaps millions) of years ago. During an auditing session he saw (while experiencing life as an advanced member of a race of beings) on the wall the OrgBoard. He memorized it and brought it back with him…an artifact of an advanced race of long ago. I don’t really know if this is Scientology scripture, only what I was told. I was told a lot of space opera things. A lot seemed really bizarre. But I was in the middle of it. Some I really tried hard to believe. I was almost always led to believe that the reason I didn’t understand something is probably because I wasn’t “far enough” spiritually and on the bridge to grasp it. I guess that I’m still not, for it still doesn’t make much sense to me.
I guess that I wanted to introduce a bit of the culture that is found in many Narconons. After re-reading everything that I wrote down here, I’m asking myself “how in the heck were you even in somewhat agreement with what appears to be absolute insanity?” Well, I guess when you are immersed in a cult-like atmosphere several things happen.

1) You are given secrets that only you and a select few possess.
2) You do not allow traditional counseling into your organization.
3) You are not permitted to question too much.
4) You are given an enemy to fight against.
5) There is a leader you are told has the secrets.
6) If anyone is antagonistic towards you, they are probably evil and must be cut off.
7) You are given your own language.
8) You only associate with and date other scientologists or Narconon grads.
9) You work 60-80 hours a week.
10) You are always offered another carrot.
11) If it isn’t written by LRH it probably isn’t true.

I know that for many people on these sites, the cult-like atmosphere is obvious. But it’s really obvious on the outside looking in. When you are in the middle of it all, you are the ones with the secrets and the ones who are right. Everyone else is wrong.

How strange it is that I actually was a member of a cult. What an odd thing to say, but even odder to have experienced.

David Lee the Founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc.

Letting the truth flow.

Thank you David.

source for post Narconon, Scientology and Intervention Services and Technologies I believe it is necessary to help spread the articles by David Lee. He is the Founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc. and has been writing on reaching4.info. His words are very enlightening and thought provoking. David’s words have already helped many get out and speak out.David, I would like to truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. Keep that river of truth flowing.CH

David Lee of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc.

Thanks. I do want to state that I’ve been receiving messages from former and current Narconon staff members who have (with the exception of one) all said my original post stated almost exactly what they went through in terms of feelings and experiences.

Many people (ex-narconon) who we hired over the years came over because they wanted out of Narconon but didn’t have many options. They were sick of all the deception and lies and thought we were a way to continue working without fully being at a Narconon. In the past, we have received calls and sometimes hired people who had former Narconon positions from Executive Directors all the way down. They generally all said the same thing about the deception. But they found themselves in a bit of a spot. When you work for Narconon for many years you quickly discover that your resume doesn’t actually mean much in the traditional recovery field. You can’t “become” a counselor at a normal facility even if you worked at Narconon for years. You essentially have to start over. Go back to school and start there. A frustrating position for anyone who has worked for Narconon for years. Narconon isn’t viewed upon as legitimate or favorable amongst most traditional recovery facilities,and in many cases having it on your resume is a sure way not to get hired. At conferences, if Narconon get’s brought up, they are usually referred to as “the liars” and scam artists.

I believe that many current Narconon staff members find themselves stuck. You have a job at a Narconon working 6-7 days a week, often for 80 hours per week. You’re making a whopping $300/wk ($50 a week when I was a trainee) and your room and board is paid for because you live at the facility. You get sick of the deception and problems but can’t get out. And if you dare question anything…

I really hope that, in the posts I write, I am able to reach out to those who are stuck. To help them to understand that you can get out and have a great life. If their purpose is to help someone, there are many ways to do so outside of Narconon. And most everyone who has broken free and wants to continue working in the field and begins working at a traditional facility is completely amazed at the professionalism that they see and never knew existed.

There are a small number of Narconon employees that I think probably really believe in everything and feel that although there is deception,it is for the greatest good. That the lies are justified, etc. But the majority who are still there, I believe feel and have felt the way that I do and have. If this is you, please reach out. How is it that so many of us feel the same way? I will keep our conversations in confidence unless you state otherwise. It is the same respect that I have found here among many of the members.

Again, I wish to thank everyone who has been supportive. And again, if there are any questions about my experiences and opinions, I will do the best I can to give the answers that I can.

David Lee the Founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc.

Letting the truth flow.

Thank you David.

source for post Narconon, Scientology and Intervention Services and Technologies I believe it is necessary to help spread the articles by David Lee. He is the Founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc. and has been writing on reaching4.info. His words are very enlightening and thought provoking. David’s words have already help many get out and speak out.David, I would like to truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. Keep that river of truth flowing.CH

David Lee of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc.

To SocialTransparency, I’ve put my answer here. To Intelligence, I sent you an email.

There are no industry standards in terms of drug testing within the treatment field that I am aware of. However, the better the facility, the more they focus on sobriety and stability amongst staff.

But, in order to answer your question more fully, I think it’s important to understand the two entirely different cultures that exist in traditional treatment programs vs Narconon. I wish to state that the following is just my opinions and not necessarily 100% written in stone in regards to every center.

In a traditional rehab program, success is primarily measured in terms of days, weeks or years of abstinence. Helping others, making amends, responsibility, growth (spiritual and otherwise) and other things are also important, but the primary focus and primary purpose is to stay sober. That’s why the clients arrived…to get sober and stay sober. Within a traditional setting rehab not all employees are recovering or ex-addicts. But of those who are, they are generally active in recovery circles where their clean time and sobriety dates are public knowledge. In other words, in my support groups in my community everyone knows my sobriety time and I know, to some degree, what everyone else’s is. It’s not necessarily a pecking order, but generally speaking someone with 90 days clean isn’t considered as stable, responsible or together as someone with 10 years. We congratulate each other on milestones. It is not uncommon to ask, within minutes of meeting someone, how much clean time they have. It gives us an idea of where they are at in life and program. Granted there are those with multiple years who are unethical in their lives, but the attitude is that, without sobriety, then what the heck are we doing here. In other words, people generally go to rehab to get and stay sober. Do people lie about their sobriety? Of course. But when you are in a tight knit group it almost always comes out. If I had the ability to sneak a drink or two without consequence, I would have never needed rehab in the first place. Those that sneak, usually are found out pretty quickly. What happens in the dark, always comes out in the light. In terms of employees, it’s generally on the honor system, coupled with a knowledge of them in their personal recovery programs. In addition, traditional programs usually have continual and random drug screening. This isn’t policy nationwide, but does exist in many programs primarily to protect the clients and the organization. There seems to be a greater desire within traditional programs to protect clients from any staff instability, dual relationships, etc.

In my viewpoint, success is looked at much differently at Narconon than elsewhere. All the times I went to Narconon, clean time as a statistic was not necessarily respected or spoken of. Occasionally I asked various Narconon staff/grads/members “how much clean time do you have?” Most didn’t answer, felt I was rude, or told me to “forget about the old AA philosophy”. During their program many clients or students would say “20 days sober for me”, but again this wasn’t something I ever felt was congratulated within a Narconon. Strange. When they became staff they stopped quoting their clean time, eventually.

So if clean time isn’t necessarily respected than what is?

Two things that I’ve noticed. How far up the bridge you were (an OT-4 is generally considered “higher” than someone just clear)….and Stats. Which stat? Whatever stat you focused on as a staff member. If you were a reg (salesperson) your stat was “people admitted to Narconon” per week. If you were a course supervisor it was “people that completed book1, book2, etc” this week. Btw, I’m probably butchering these exact stats. In every Narconon there is an actual phrase for each post on these stats. It’s something like “Students who have completed the Sauna” or something like that. I don’t remember what they are.

And ironically, these stats are generally viewed upon as most important, in my opinion. And if your stats fell, you were looked upon and made to do “conditions” workups. Actually you were always doing conditions. But here is the ironic thing. If you were a salesperson and did 5 “starts” this week, the only way to be considered in a good or “normal” condition is if you were to do one more the next week. In other words, 6. And then you had to do 7, then 8, then 9 per week, etc. The minute you didn’t increase…if you did the same number this week as last week, you were considered in “emergency”. More than a couple behind…considered in ”Danger”. Push, push, push.

So, what does all this have to do with anything? In my experience, if your stats were good and you were “slipping” in your sobriety, it usually seemed to either be ignored or, if found out, you were given a mild ethics condition. It seemed to be a known thing in Narconon that if your stats were up than the ethics are mild. In other words, you didn’t really get punished for out-ethics behaviors at all as long as you were producing…behaviors which could include drinking, acting out, etc. The only time I saw drug test being pushed was if stats were down on an individual. In some cases, however, if it turned out that a large majority of students were mysteriously intoxicated, drug tests at the student and staff level might happen to nip it in the bud. However, I assume that what I witnessed was if a staff member was in an ok stat condition, they were usually pulled off post for a couple weeks up to a month to do their conditions and then put back on post. Which means, at many times during your program, the clients or students could even have more sobriety time than the staff member who was “teaching” them about sobriety. All in all, it was strange because, on occasion we would receive “Staff success stories” published and released by a particular Narconon. One in particular was an individual boasting of 10 years drug and alcohol free. Which was really strange because the year before I was sitting across from him during his retread as he just came off a year long bender.

In addition, every student at Narconon, prior to completing the program, finishes what is referred to as Book 8, the Way to Happiness. In this book it says “Do not take alcohol to excess” and “a little liquor goes a long way”. I have witnessed continual drinking amongst Narconon staff members where the justification was always Book 8. “It says right here that we can drink, just not to excess!” In my first program in Canada, almost every graduate celebrated by going to the local bar, many with staff trainees.

Correction- “Do not take alcohol to excess” and “a little liquor goes a long way”“I think I was quoting from the Scientology Way to Happiness book. The narconon way to happiness doesn’t seem to have that but does have the “be temperate do not drink alcohol to excess” quote.” -David Lee

I have never experienced a traditional program where it was stated anywhere that an alcoholic or addict could drink, as long as they didn’t do it to excess. As an interventionist I had many family member call me after their client completed Narconon and celebrated by drinking, quoting that book and stating that staff members told them they could…that they were “only addicts” and not alcoholic.

I don’t want to leave off by saying to no one at Narconon was committed to sobriety. Many were, but there was an underlying culture that it was not as important as your success. And success was usually different than just mere sobriety. As a motivational group, it might have been fine.

David Lee the Founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc.

Letting the truth flow.

Thank you David.

source for post Narconon, Scientology and Intervention Services and Technologies I believe it is necessary to help spread the articles by David Lee. He is the Founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc. and has been writing on reaching4.info. His words are very enlightening and thought provoking. David’s words have already help many get out and speak out.David, I would like to truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. Keep that river of truth flowing.CH

David Lee of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc.

Sure, I’ll try to answer it the best I can.

In the beginning, all we knew was Narconon and their referral payment process. I’ve learned since that marketing agreements are actually pretty common in the industry and not unique to Narconon. However, we here really stopping “liking” referring to Narconon, initially for business reasons. Referring to Narconon had about a 50% chance of someone encountering black PR and then not going. So it was becoming more and more risky to refer to them. However, the die-hard Narconon-only and Scientologists generally will only refer to Narconon. There used to be a lot of independent referral agents working for Narconon with their own sites. The cost of internet has changed a lot of it. It’s pretty hard to create a site and generate leads. The majority of “independent” agents out there now are actually just answering phones for a fake referral site ran and operated by Narconon.

Where does Narconon compare?

Generally they offer a standard 10% fee. A lot of people disagree with marketing agreements. I do also if you don’t give multiple options. How is a referral fee “justified”? Well, I’ll explain why they exist. The internet. Essentially for most standard treatment facilities, it “costs” them anywhere from $20-$50 per call. And generally it takes anywhere from 50 to 100 calls to close a client. Which means that, at the low end, it costs that treatment center a minimum of $1000-$5000 just in marketing alone. A $3000 referral fee fits in right about at the amount they are paying anyways. My biggest issue with Narconon in terms of referrals is that they create “fake” referral sites, only refer to themselves, change the names of their agencies and even staff. It got so strange over here when we would get an intervention lead from let’s say “Joe from Narconon”. He would say “I talked with the family, but I was on the referral line and said my name was Bob. I’ve referred it to Jill at Narconon (at the desk next to his). The family hasn’t committed to Narconon, so make sure that they don’t know I’m Joe and that I’m really Bob. Please make sure this family wants Narconon…but don’t mention the word Narconon so they don’t go on the internet.” What an absolute nightmare and ethical mess.

However in regards to referrals on our end, as an intervention company we had to change the way we did things. Essentially, in order to become board registered you can not, as an interventionist, accept payment from a treatment center for referring an intervention client. Which makes sense because you are entering into a sacred trust with a family. To take advantage of that trust and gain financial reward for pushing their loved one into a treatment center you get “paid” to work for creates a pretty big problem. So, we can no longer (and I agree) accept payments from a treatment center on any intervention that we do.

However, we do also have a referral company, Sober Solutions. We try to keep the lines pretty separate, and if a referral ends up being an intervention we can’t then accept a referral fee. A true referral company and information resource, should try and give multiple options. Most narconon independent or “fake” referral sites only refer to one option…Narconon.

In terms of vetting the treatment centers, we now email out a list of about 100 questions and that is just the first step. This includes such things as “how many clinicians on staff?”, “dual diagnosis”, “psychiatrists”, etc. This is usually followed by a tour of the facility. Generally most legitimate treatment facilities are willing to fly us out on their cost and tour, meet their clinicians, go over their program. It takes about 3 months before we consider referring.

How do we avoid treatment centers with a Narconon style or lack of integrity? Word of mouth goes pretty far and many treatment centers have been around for years. We actually have been fortunate to have some of the leading intervention people and companies in the 12-step world reach out to us and help us to get out of Narconon. The were pretty blunt about our relationships with Narconon and how they felt about it. They really did help us to reevaluate how we do business and understand that we could ultimately raise the bar in our standards and practices. Before then, I was an arrogant Narconon grad who assumed I knew more than everyone about interventions. I’m very grateful to have the ability to actually listen to the advice of others who are more knowledgeable than I. The 12-step or clinical world does a much better job of policing it’s own than Narconon ever really did. When we entered their world, they showed up.

Narconon is a unique entity and I hope to explain why. Generally speaking there are different levels of treatment. Here’s some basics:

1) Sober Living house: No rules other than basic sobriety requirements. No program or counseling. Usually managed by someone with a few years sober minimum. $100-$150/wk
2) Halfway House: Same as above, except they may have a limited amount of actual program and recovery structure attached to it. This is a social model setting, in other words the staff is usually former clients who have, usually, a minimum of 6 months to a year sober who then work there. Clients can work, have freedom, etc. No true counselors. A basic level of training for staff on how to facilitate the program and treat the clients. $100-$150/wk
3) Recovery Home: A much more structured Halfway house. Usually clients are “locked in” with the exception of day trips or outside AA meetings. The staff here might have one or two certified counselors, but you will probably not find any clinicians. Minimum sobriety requirements are generally 2 years. If state funded, could be a free program, however if private, anywhere from $2000-$4000/month.
4) Florida Model Treatment Center: Essentially a combination of a halfway-house/recovery home where the clients live one place but then are transported to an outside Outpatient program where they attend counseling by clinicians. 3 years minimum sobriety for staff. $8000-$30000/month
5) Licensed residential treatment center: Inpatient setting. An assessment must be done to determine the level of care. Clinicians and therapists on staff. 5 years minimum sobriety requirements for staff: $15000-$30000
6) Dual Diagnosis capable center: Same as 5) but usually has a higher level of care, psychiatrists on staff. Fully qualified to handle mental illness and substance abuse. $30000-$60000/month. Average sobriety time is probably 8-30 years for staff.

Granted there are many variations in the above, but I just am going to try to make a point. If we only look at Sobriety Requirements then where, in my list above does Narconon fall in terms of staff? Barely at the same level of a halfway house, if that. Interesting. Narconon staff members have minimal to no sobriety requirements and are often hired fresh off the program (2 months to 6 months sober), or fresh off a retread (2 weeks to 2 months sober). Narconon staff members are generally not trained in any standard clinical practices, but instead are taught things like the “withdraw specialist hat”, “Course Supervisor Hat” or the “Sauna IC hat”. In other words, in my opinion, based upon the above criteria for staffing, Narconon is closer in style to a recovery home or halfway house than to the more clinical programs. You find much of the same chaos and drama at some halfway houses as you do at a Narconon…but narconon brings on greater risk to the client in assuming a higher level of care than a halfway house. In addition, the minimum sobriety standards don’t exist at Narconon, but do at other programs. However, notice the price of Narconon. It is comparable to a full treatment center and often being promoted as “the equivalent in standards to a high end program…just cheaper and longer”. I completely disagree with this assessment. Granted they would argue that they are long-term vs. 28 days. But that’s like comparing a 28 day stay at Hazelden to a six month stay in a halfway house and saying the halfway house is a better and more qualified option because of it’s length and price. In addition, the assessments that we did at Narconon didn’t, to me, really determine the program the client would receive. In other words, if a client had major physical and sexual abuse in their history…they were given the same “program” as someone who wasn’t. If a client had an eating disorder…same program. Alcoholic vs Heroin addict? Same program. I have learned that in the world of addiction and recovery there are many disorders, trauma, addictions, etc. that each must be dealt with uniquely. This doesn’t seem to occur at Narconon. If you throw in underlying psychiatric issues, which Narconon doesn’t seem to accept like the rest of the clinical world…oh boy. At most legitimate facilities, an assessment of needs is done on each client in terms of a standard Bio-psychosocial evaluation. This determines if there are external factors, unique substance abuse issues, medical issues, social factors, psychiatric factors…each of which must be addressed differently as the client progresses. In my experience, none of this happens at a Narconon.

Part of the problem with Narconon, in my opinion, setting aside the lack of clinical training in counseling or other things is the low sobriety that exists at the staff level. There is a reason why most legitimate centers have minimum sobriety requirements. In other words, when you are newly sober you are still emotionally underdeveloped, you don’t tend to take accountability, you have a low responsibility level, you shift the blame, are reactive and impulsive still, you aren’t as honest as you could be, and you have high relapse potential. Instead of doing what’s right today so you have a great life a year from now, you still tend to do what “feels good” today regardless of the outcomes. Imagine a culture where most staff were at this level. What would happen? Look at Narconon and their problems. Rampant drug use, sex with clients, deaths of clients. Most of these problems, I believe, are due to a combination of lack of professional and clinical training coupled with minimal sobriety. At Narconon we were really taught that psychiatry, psychology, and traditional programs may occasionally do some good but were inherently wrong. I honestly believed, with about 2 weeks sober and a “basic staff hat” training under my belt that I was more qualified than anyone with a doctorate in psychology. You will find this attitude almost exclusively and at any Narconon. Imagine the arrogance we had.

Well, hopefully I’ve answered some of your questions. I’ll try to be as open as I can about anything. I realize that I am in a unique position. I’ve probably interacted with, had relationships with and visited with almost every Narconon referral source, Reg, FSM and Narconon in North America. Although not an expert, I may be able to shed light on some things, should you ask.

I have to be pretty careful about naming specific individuals and such. I’m not really prepared for any onslaught of lawsuits. We’ll see how the weeks and months turn out though.

And to everyone here and who has reached out to me privately, I want to personally express my overwhelming gratitude on the level of support that I’ve gotten. I was pretty nervous about stepping out, but felt I had to. It’s pretty nice to be on this side.
Sincerely,

My name is David Lee and I am the founder of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc. For many years I was directly and indirectly responsible for helping over one thousand families members get their loved ones to Narconons throughout North America, a program that I once believed in, advocated for, and endorsed. A program that I no longer endorse in any way.

I must first state that I am not reacting to anything that Narconon, Scientology or anyone has “done” to me. I am not an angry terminated staff member, or been disconnected (until now, probably), or had a major falling out because of anything personal. I am simply here because of my own conscience, because of what I have seen and the damages that I believe Narconon has done by misleading addicts struggling to find recovery and the families that have often times invested everything they had on the hope that maybe it would work. I would also like to thank Mary McConnell of this site, and also Lucas Catton, without whom I might have not had the courage to make this final step.

Around Christmas of 2001, my family found Narconon. I had tried and failed at many traditional approaches. My mother prayed for the right answer and thought it had come in the form of Narconon. Here was something different for her son. It says it has a 76% success rate. For those odds, my mother would have sold her soul to save her son. Instead, she took out a loan that she couldn’t afford. If it had been a million dollars she would have found the way to pay it. She just felt that I was dying, that she was losing her son. She knew nothing and was told nothing about Scientology…and off I went.

I flew to Canada and found out right away that it had L. Ron Hubbard written all over it. But, at the time, I wasn’t mad, I was fascinated. The treatment center was a small and new Narconon that had just opened up in Canada. Only six “students” at a time, but it had about 10 Scientologist staff members. Not Narconon grads, but actual Scientologists. I had never met a Scientologist before. I liked them right away. There the staff told me things that I never heard in an AA meeting. That I didn’t have to be an addict forever, that I could be something more. I heard about power, control, confronting my life. I heard about responsibility, the evils of traditional programs and psychiatry, a duty to help others, and having an effect on the world. I heard about changing the world.

AA was about humility. This wasn’t about humility at all. I never met anyone who encouraged the typical “grand” thinking that I had as an addict. I loved it.

I was offered a job almost immediately. Here was something amazing to me. I went to sleep one night a patient. I woke up a staff member. Newly sober, emotionally immature, not stable at all. But now in charge of helping others to find Narconon and, perhaps, Scientology. In the Narconon world, your actual sobriety means very little, I have found. What matters is what “ethics condition” you are in. A strange but attractive philosophy. You could have 2 weeks sober, but after a condition workup, be essentially in a higher level than someone who had abstained for many years. In AA, you had to earn it over years and time. Here, you could find admiration and respect in a few days. We never spoke of “clean time”, sobriety dates, or anything like that. It was about conditions, cause, effects, control.

After I left I began doing interventions for Narconons across the US. Within 7 years, we kept expanding and were eventually the largest provider of interventions for Narconons that had ever been and perhaps, ever since. Much of that time, I believed that I had a grand purpose. I believed in Narconon, although I would continually relapse. Be taken off lines, taken to a Narconon for a “retread” workup, put back on lines. Throughout all this I still believed in Narconon, I just believed that I had missed something. Sometimes I thought I needed a more thorough PTS handling (identify external factors that were causing you problems), other times it was TR’s (training routines) where I would sit in a chair motionless for 10 hours a day, weeks on end. Maybe it was that I hadn’t written enough overts (harmful actions, secrets, etc), maybe a more thorough Sauna program. Through it all, it was usually suggested that unless I got on the bridge of Scientology and got into deeper auditing, I would probably never find true stability. I could just never afford what they suggested. “A mere $200k and you can have total freedom” Ouch.

I eventually found that I was losing faith in the Narconon program. Not so much because of my lack of stability (I still felt I was the failure), but because of what I saw on a more and more frequent basis amongst other Narconon grads, staff members, and Scientologists. Here are the most major of the concerns that I began having:

 Narconon Reg’s (salespeople) seldom if ever were honest to families that Narconon was based upon L.Ron Hubbard and connected to Scientology. At the time, I was proud of Narconon and couldn’t understand why someone who had that philosophy would be ashamed. I’ve never met a Christian who lied about being a Christian, the bible or their faith. If we suggested to Narconon that we would be transparent, we were usually told not to, that they would “handle that” after the client arrived. Many families arrived without understanding it was connected to Scientology. I would say that 90% of the time families were upset it was because of this issue. It happened almost constantly. Many said they wouldn’t have minded if Narconon told them up front, but since they didn’t…how can they be trusted now?
 Every time I did a retread or crossed paths with other Narconon staff members, I found frequent relapsers just like myself, it was just hidden. I remember on occasion where new staff members would approach me in confidence and say that “no one who works here has stayed sober. I’m worried. You know other Narconons. Is this normal, David?”. I believe that I only know of less than 10 Narconon graduates who became staff members and stayed 100% sober without picking up a drink or a drug since graduating. Less than 10 out of hundreds and hundreds that I have crossed paths with in the last 10 years. Apparently they too felt that a “condition” state was more important than actual time sober. A strange thing for an organization so adamant about stats. I think that “time sober” should be the most important statistic in a rehab. Perhaps I’m wrong. Many families went to Narconon because they were told of a 76% success rate. In my experience this is simply not true. And when their loved one didn’t stay clean, they just assumed they were on the wrong side of the high success rate.
 Clients were being lied to about counseling at Narconon. Prior to coming in, many families were being told that their loved one would have more “one on one counseling” than anywhere else. In reality, I know and knew that Narconon has almost zero clinical counseling in the traditional sense. The “one on one” aspect they refer to is one addict sitting across from another. Which I guess would mean that the last time I was in Detox I had 20 counselors helping me…unfortunately, they were detoxing clients as well.

I was eventually thrown out of Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc due to frequent relapsing. It was the best thing my brother could have done. During my time away, I had much time to reflect upon the truth, the choices that I had made and the life that I lived. I moved into a 12-step halfway house and remained there for 18 months. I am coming up on 4 years clean and sober. A true 4 years sober. I don’t know what condition that I am in, but I am happy enough to have real sobriety. I am a current member of traditional recovery. This isn’t meant to be a “my recovery vs. Narconon recovery”. But I do believe that with true recovery comes honesty, accountability, sobriety and purity. These are things I was taught at Narconon, but didn’t actually see much of in my time with them.

I sincerely and truly regret that many families that we worked with were being misled. I also regret that I did nothing to prevent it and was a party to getting their loved one’s to Narconon without them knowing all the facts. It’s ironic that when I was in the Narconon Universe they always said that an “overt of omission” is a “failure to act that results in the harm of another”. I could have drawn the line long ago, and regret that I stayed in that universe longer than my conscious gave me warning. I had misgivings long before writing this. I should have made a statement years ago.

In the last 3 years since my return at Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc. we have had to come to terms with many things. For a time, we felt that if we promoted 12-step recovery after Narconon, or stopped referring clients there, or if we were transparent with family members about Narconon and its connections with Scientology that would be enough. I, and we, no longer feel that way. And although working with Narconon has all but fallen completely away, I feel that unless I make this statement the door is still open.

I and we here at Intervention Services and Technologies, Inc. will officially no longer work in any capacity with any treatment facility that endorses, promotes, or advocates Narconon or Scientology principles.

This includes any facility within the actual Narconon Network or anything affiliated with them or Scientology. My suggestions to those there are, in my experience, that if you bring any form of Scientology or Narconon principles in your universe you very well may find a lack of recovery, honesty, sobriety, emotional stability, and instead have all the chaos that goes with it. There comes a time in recovery when you must draw a line in the sand. Sooner of later you have to make a choice.

I think it is important to understand that most of us who find our way into the Narconon or Scientology universe do so initially because our life had fallen apart. Maybe we had tried other methods, and were desperate to find something different. I, for one, was so grateful in the beginning when I got to Narconon. I didn’t know there were other options until then. I had almost given up. In the end, I was so reluctant to let go of Narconon as a recovery path, because I felt it was the last house on the block, even if it wasn’t really working for me. Letting go of your last hope isn’t always easy.

I would like to personally apologize to those here, the family members and addicts who we have worked with through Narconon. If you didn’t find success there, I am deeply sorry. I hope that you never give up searching for recovery. And to my staff, many of whom aren’t Narconon people, I’d like to apologize for dragging you into a universe that you probably didn’t believe or even belong in.

It is safe to assume that those who are reading this are not all antagonistic towards Narconon or Scientology. Perhaps you are a fellow ex-coworker at a Narconon, or a former friend. Or perhaps you were sent this, even though you are probably told not to read Black PR sites as I was. So I would like to speak directly to you, the current Narconon staff member. The one who may be there…but is having doubts.

Many dozens of ex-Narconon employees have reached out to me over the last several years. The story is always the same. They didn’t like the dishonesty. One day you will probably find yourself in the same position that I and many other people have over the years. Should I do what’s right or should I do what’s easy? Maybe you are passionate about helping others and Narconon gave you a chance to do it. But when you eventually realize, as most of us have, that the relapsing amongst your coworkers is more common than you think, that lying for “the greatest good” is not ok, then you have a choice. What if you find one day…that the success rate isn’t true? You can either leave, or get honest about what you sell. But will you be permitted to? Ask and see.

And I speak from personal experience here. You may eventually find yourself on a spiritual path of true recovery. And one day you may wake up and you can no longer ignore the voices of the mothers, fathers, brothers and family members who reached out to you in desperation and found hope in Narconon…only to be replaced with major concerns about being misled. Although there have been hundreds, perhaps thousands of family members I have spoken to, one in particular stands out. I wish I remembered her name. I was working at Narconon. I spent an hour on the phone with her and in the end, she was sobbing for joy. “Thank you David, I had given up hope and I now know that my prayers have been answered. Narconon is going to save my son. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” And as I hung up the phone, I was aware of something new that I felt for maybe the first time, in my heart. That Narconon wasn’t going to work for her son. She had sold everything that she had on a chance to save her son. I don’t know why I think of her more than anyone else. There were many. But, I think, that it is because she probably sounded exactly like my mother when she reached out over 10 years ago and found Narconon. And when my mother hung up the phone, she sold everything that she had for a chance that she believed would now save her poor and lost son.

Again, I am not angry at anything that Narconon or Scientology “did” to me. In reality, they never did anything other than try and offer to help me. The lack of honesty about Scientology, counseling and their often posted success rate is what I have the most issue with. To be deceptive about one point opens a whole series of questions about the integrity of the other points. And I don’t intend to single any one person or entity out. Anything that I speak of can probably be found at most Narconons. I am fully responsible for the choices and decisions that I have made in my life. I know there are probably some that have found a great life after Narconon and I don’t want to take that away. I know of others, who although still relapsing, have found post-Narconon life better than the alternative. I was never a “great” example of a Narconon graduate, staff member or even of a Scientologist. I doubt I would be considered, at any time, their “golden boy” and probably know less about Scientology than the people on these sites. I just traveled in many, many Narconon circles. And I can only speak of my experiences, thoughts and feelings, and how they have changed over the years.

I doubt Narconon will change. I doubt they will tell everyone who calls that they are connected to Scientology. I doubt they will really evaluate their posted success rates and how the program is “sold” over the phone. But, I do know, that for as long as they don’t…there are others who will.

Students at Purcell Junior High School will host Andrew Cuomo from Narconon for Red Ribbon Week on Tuesday.
Cuomo will speak to the students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
Parents and the public are welcome to attend the hour-long program at the junior high school auditorium starting at 9:20 a.m.
Officials report a major problem plaguing parents today is prescription medications sought by children. Over three million United States teens abuse prescription drugs, according to Lock Your Meds.
Every day, 3,300 more children begin experimenting with prescription drugs, the official estimated.
Lock Your Meds shows 70 percent of children who abuse prescription drugs admit to taking them from family and friends.
Since prescription drugs, when used as prescribed, can improve a person’s health, many teens believe they are a safe way to get high, according to the National Family Partnership.
Some disturbing facts presented by the National Family Partnership show 2.1 million teens abused prescription drugs in 2006.
Another fact is 3.1 million 12 to 25-year-olds have used over-the-counter cough and cold medications at least once to get high.
The National Family Partnership also revealed nearly one in 10 high school seniors admit abusing pain relievers.
The speaker Tuesday will touch on all the pertinent areas of teen drug abuse.
The more teens and parents know about the lifelong effects of drug abuse, the better the chances of keeping a child from getting hooked.
For questions regarding Tuesday’s program, contact Aimee Ellis at 527-6591. Red Ribbon Week program is Tuesday – Purcell Register

Anonymous Helps Purcell Junior High School Oklahoma with Truth.

Here just one of many emails that went to the School District informing the School District of the truth:

I am writing you because it has come to my attention that Andrew Cuomo from the Church of Scientology drug rehab front group Narconon Arrowhead is giving a presentation at Purcell Jr. High School next Tuesday, October 25, starting at 9:20 am. Mr. Cuomo is NOT a Certified Drug Counselor! Narconon has many fraudulent referral programs, if you haven’t researched “ABLE” or “Narconon” here is a banner from the Scientology home page:

scientology.org Home-Page-Banner

I am tracking down how much Oklahoma tax dollars have gone to Narconon “aka..Scientology” program. I don’t know how to emphasis this enough, Narconon is not just talking about Drug Awareness to your kids, they are implanting basic Scientology dogma into your kids young minds via verbal communication skills and your paying them to do this! Anyway you look at this it’s wrong!!!

I suspect you are not aware of Narconon, here are some highlight points: Narconon is a front group for the Church of Scientology Narconon disseminates 100% Scientology doctrine and practice Narconon attempts to proselytize Christians into Scientology beliefs among which are reincarnation and past lives Its programs consists of two things: a detox program and a rehab program The detox consists of a medically dangerous regime of 4-5 hours a day for up to four weeks in a super-heated sauna and a dangerous regime of mega doses of niacin The Detox regime is called “The Purification Rundown”, and Scientology has stated to the IRS that it is a religious practice The rehab program consists exclusively of the study of Scientology doctrine using the same texts that new members of Scientology use in their indoctrination There is no standard-practice individual or group counseling Narconon is an anti-psychiatry hate group, disseminating the cult’s belief that all psychiatric drugs are evil as are all psychiatrists, psychologists, and social service workers. I would also like to point out that Narconon has been found to be medically useless. It is appalling that the Purcell education system is spending tax payer dollars on funding this propaganda effort by the Church of Scientology. There are surely many other people, including yourselves, who are quite capable of educating the students of Purcell on the dangers of drugs. I am not sure what you can do about this, but at the very least parents and children need to be warned, and perhaps you could attend the program. Christian pastors also need to be made aware. Unfortunately, many are still ignorant. However, the threat of Scientology to Christian students in Purcell has now come very near.

The Purcell Junior High School cancelled the event after becoming highly informed on who was about to speak to their children.

We do not Forgive. We do not Forget. Expect Us because We Run This

Anonymous Press Release:

Anonymous members collectively stopped a “drug talk” presentation by the Church of Scientology scheduled this week at Oklahoma’s Purcell Jr. High.

Narconon, a known Church of Scientology front group was slated to visit Purcell Jr. High in recognition of Red Ribbon Week which annually falls on the last week of October. The talk was scheduled for Tuesday morning Oct 25th, but Anonymous supplied school officials with pertinent information about Narconon. Purcell Jr. High will stay Church of Scientology free.

Narconon’s speaker, Andrew Cuomo, never mentions the words “Church of Scientology” when he goes to talk to kids about drugs. Nor does he mention the word Scientology when he books these engagements, even though Narconon is a front group for the Church of Scientology and uses the teachings of L Ron Hubbard in their drug programs. Narconon is also a carbon copy of the Church of Scientology’s program “Criminon”, which unfortunately is still being used in the jail systems in the US and other countries. Many of these programs that get implemented with the “ok” from town officials are subsidized using YOUR tax dollars! Again, not enough homework or back ground checks are made.

Most schools will never know they were just paid a visit from the Church of Scientology, when Andrew Cuomo or other Narconon representative, John Bitinas visits their schools to talk to kids. Why do John and Andrew volunteer to visit the schools? It’s all about recruitment down the line, the collection of testimonials from students, and the acquisition of students’ contact info. Luckily, members of Anonymous alerted Amee Ellis of Purcell Jr. High in time and the presentation with Cuomo was canceled.

Parents, teachers, town officials and the PTA, need to DO THEIR HOMEWORK and be aware of who is talking to their children.

P.S.

Some other Church of Scientology front groups people may want to be made of aware of are The CCHR (Citizens Commission on Human Rights), Applied Scholastics, WISE, ABLE, The Drug Free Marshals, The Way to Happiness, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, Youth for Human Rights and there are many more. None of these front groups will ever mention the Church of Scientology, with the exception of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers.

Also be aware of tables set up in your town offering a “Free Stress Test”. This is the Church of Scientology. They have been known to set up on sidewalks, shopping malls, fairs, train stations and even flea markets. There are videos of them offering these free stress tests to children. They are shameless in their efforts to recruit, and nowhere will you see the words Church of Scientology anywhere on these tables.